8 Rules for a Successful Ecommerce Website

An e-commerce website is one of the best routes to building a fortune online. You
can successfully run an e-commerce website by making use of the basic principles of retailing.

The best thing is that you don’t need a lot of money to create an e-commerce website and they are excellent
substitutes to ‘brick and motor’ establishments.

Use these eight rules to build a successful e-commerce website:

1. Find a product to sell

The basic purpose of an e-commerce website is to sell products
online. Before you get down to setting up the website, you need to figure out what it is that you want to sell.
While anything can be sold online, different products have different profit margins so choose carefully.

2. Showcase your products

In a brick and motor setting, this would be a display window that helps to draw the customer into the shop.
Inside the shop, there are aisles that give the customer access to more products conveniently arranged.

Online, you showcase your products through convenient navigation. You need to give potential customers the same
ease of access to your products. Ensure that there are comparison tools that they can use to examine your products
and make a choice. Superb usability is the cornerstone of a successful website.

3. Build a complete e-commerce website

Many people who run e-commerce sites simply put up websites with many sections ‘under construction’. Others use
hosting services that are lackluster and end up passing a lot of inconvenience to the customers.

Online users are very impatient. The fact is that if your website is inaccessible, you will not make any sales.
You need to get your website running constantly and consistently. A serious e-commerce website can’t afford ‘coming
soon’ banners.

In the same regard, it is crucial that your website is properly maintained. Having broken links littered all
over your site is a guaranteed way to kill your online business.

4. Take great care when presenting your products

It is rare for someone to buy something before they can see it;
therefore the way you present your sale items can make all the difference. To build even more
credibility, you should incorporate a catalogue into your site.

However, take caution to avoid loading your catalogue with many images that will instead slow down your website.
Create searchable categories and improve load times with thumbnails. Ensure to provide stock information and short
product descriptions.

5. Provide viable contact information

If your website is anonymous, it will create a sense of doubt to potential customers. Buyers feel reassured when
they have some means of contacting the business owner. Also, when you provide contact information, don’t use
pseudonyms like ‘webmaster’ or ‘queen247’. If I’m going to buy a product from your website, I want to know who you
are.

6. Ensure maximum levels of security

Just like a normal retailer would put in place security measures to ensure you’re safe inside their shop, so
should an e-commerce website. Customers’ credit card information is very sensitive and you should have various
security layers in place and make sure your customers know this.

7. Offer superior customer support

This is one of the key factors that determine continuity of your business. If you give your customers excellent
customer service, rest assured they will talk about it to other potential customers and give your business positive
feedback. Good customer service goes a long way in building a solid reputation.

8. Finally, offer incentives to your customers

You must go an extra mile and do those small things that will keep old customers coming back or turn visitors to buyers. Make the customer know that you’re
grateful for their support. In addition to incentives, always close your sales with a ‘thank you’ note. You can
simply display this on screen or in a follow-up email.

In the world of online shopping, it is not enough to just have a quality product. You have to give potential
customers good reason why they should buy from you. These rules are sure to do just that.